Cynthia Ezegwu
Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has warned that the desperation of Nigerian politicians and their “do-or-die” attitude toward elections continue to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and threaten the country’s democratic development.
Jega, who spoke on Monday in Abuja during the joint graduation ceremony of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the University of Benin, expressed concern that despite 25 years of uninterrupted democracy since 1999, Nigeria still grapples with electoral malpractice, violence, and a lack of public trust in elections.
“When we see the desperation of these politicians, it is very clear, as former President Obasanjo said, that they engage with elections with a ‘do-or-die’ mentality. We must win by whatever means are necessary,” Jega said in his keynote address.
The former INEC chairman, who is also a Professor of Political Science at Bayero University, Kano, noted that such attitudes have eroded citizens’ confidence in the democratic process, leaving Nigeria “muddling through” its democratic journey since the return to civilian rule.
“No elections are perfect and none are likely to ever be,” he said, adding that electoral integrity “is relative and measured as a continuum from the extreme worst-case scenario to the ideal best-case scenario.”
Jega traced the roots of Nigeria’s political desperation to 2007, when then-President Olusegun Obasanjo famously described elections as a “do-or-die affair,” a statement that, according to critics, reflected the country’s zero-sum political culture—marked by violence, ballot snatching, vote-buying, and endless litigation.
He stressed that addressing the flaws in Nigeria’s electoral process would require “continuous and concerted efforts” to reform the system, strengthen democratic institutions, and instill ethical standards among politicians.
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“The credibility of elections has a direct correlation with the quality of representation and governance,” Jega added.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, commended President Bola Tinubu for introducing the student loan scheme, describing it as a transformative policy that has reduced financial barriers to education.
“The establishment of student loans has minimised education barriers and ensured that Nigerian students, regardless of their economic background, can access funding for tertiary education in public universities,” Omoregie said.
He congratulated the graduating class of the NILDS/UNIBEN programme—comprising 46 Master’s degree, 19 Higher National Diploma, and nine Postgraduate Diploma recipients—praising their commitment and academic excellence.